resources

“Curriculum” is discussed
on a daily basis in conversations within schools among administrators,
teachers, support staff, and outside stakeholders. Strangely enough, it is a term that carries
fundamental misconceptions that make those conversations difficult. Unless everyone involved in the conversation
has the same definition for curriculum, what is said and what is heard are
often very different.

Perhaps the most common
misconception about curriculum is that a textbook or series is the curriculum.
Textbooks or any other instructional materials are actually resources.
Resources are used to teach curriculum, but are not the curriculum itself. Many
textbook series have a curriculum embedded into the resource; however, it is
critical that a district determine its curricula locally before resources are
adopted. This is to ensure that adopted resources properly support the learning
that the district feels is essential – not the hidden curriculum that the
publisher values.

Another misconception about
curriculum has to do with the federal government’s requirement that each state
determines a set of standard skills and content that must be taught at each
grade level for each content area. Although these sets of skills and content
are clearly called state standards, many educators are under the false
assumption that they are curriculum. It is clearly stated in most standards
documents that they are not curriculum and that districts need to determine
their curricula locally to assure that students meet the identified standards
for content and skills.

True, local curriculum must
fully employ state standards, but the district may value additional skills and
content. Furthermore, standards documents may not be organized into a teachable
sequence, but rather they are typically categorized according to similar
attributes (strands or domains) such as reading skills, number sense, or
presentational skills that would not necessarily be taught in isolation of the
other strands or domains within the subject area standards.

On the following page,
please examine the graphic representation of curriculum as a roadmap and note
the role that resources and standards play in the student’s learning journey.

In this illustration, the
journey begins with a teacher and her students. This teacher is tasked with
leading her students to their final destination (the end of the “road”) which
includes their ability to demonstrate skills and knowledge of the state
standards and the district-defined values. This could be a daunting task,
particularly if the “road” is not broken down into teachable chunks or units.
The breakdown of the journey, the roadmap, is the curriculum.

Curriculum should be organized to include curriculum targets that can be accurately assessed after a unit is completed. The desired “outcomes” for each of these teachable units are depicted as blue flags along the road in the illustration. Essentially, these outcomes are significant checkpoints of student learning along the way.

To ensure that students can
be successful at the unit outcome level, learning must be broken down further
into smaller steps that will be formatively assessed on a regular basis (daily
or every few days, at least). These narrow curriculum targets are depicted as
footprints along the road. Each unit outcome (flag) includes its own set of
footprints.

So, where do resources,
best practices, and differentiation fit into this analogy? Resources are what
you pack in your suitcase. They are the supplemental materials that make the
trip fun, engaging, and successful. There is rarely one resource that will
align perfectly to your curriculum, which is why we use the suitcase to
represent resources; it is filled with many great tools and materials – some
are essential, others are nice to have along.

Incorporating best
practices (e.g., 21st-century skills, math practices, ELA text complexity, and
ISTE standards) into instruction is like the sun that sheds light on the trip.
Best practices help to produce a well-balanced experience for students.

Lastly, differentiation
activities (i.e., intervention and enrichment) are the rest areas along the
way. It is essential to pause to ensure all students are on board and ready to
progress, using formative assessments as indicators of who might need
remediation or intervention activities.
It is equally important to provide engaging, relevant activities for
those students who are already with you and can keep up the pace.

There are so many elements that go into effective teaching; but, the foundation of everything is to determine what students need to know and be able to do – the curriculum ­­– and how it will fit into the time that you’re given. If you haven’t already made your roadmap, make it a priority to identify curriculum targets. You’ll feel more confident about having a plan and the chances of students arriving at the destination are much improved!

“Curriculum” is discussed
on a daily basis in conversations within schools among administrators,
teachers, support staff, and outside stakeholders. Strangely enough, it is a term that carries
fundamental misconceptions that make those conversations difficult. Unless everyone involved in the conversation
has the same definition for curriculum, what is said and what is heard are
often very different.

Perhaps the most common
misconception about curriculum is that a textbook or series is the curriculum.
Textbooks or any other instructional materials are actually resources.
Resources are used to teach curriculum, but are not the curriculum itself. Many
textbook series have a curriculum embedded into the resource; however, it is
critical that a district determine its curricula locally before resources are
adopted. This is to ensure that adopted resources properly support the learning
that the district feels is essential – not the hidden curriculum that the
publisher values.

Another misconception about
curriculum has to do with the federal government’s requirement that each state
determines a set of standard skills and content that must be taught at each
grade level for each content area. Although these sets of skills and content
are clearly called state standards, many educators are under the false
assumption that they are curriculum. It is clearly stated in most standards
documents that they are not curriculum and that districts need to determine
their curricula locally to assure that students meet the identified standards
for content and skills.

True, local curriculum must
fully employ state standards, but the district may value additional skills and
content. Furthermore, standards documents may not be organized into a teachable
sequence, but rather they are typically categorized according to similar
attributes (strands or domains) such as reading skills, number sense, or
presentational skills that would not necessarily be taught in isolation of the
other strands or domains within the subject area standards.

Please examine this graphic representation of curriculum as a roadmap and note the role that resources and standards play in the student’s learning journey.

In this illustration, the
journey begins with a teacher and her students. This teacher is tasked with
leading her students to their final destination (the end of the “road”) which
includes their ability to demonstrate skills and knowledge of the state
standards and the district-defined values. This could be a daunting task,
particularly if the “road” is not broken down into teachable chunks or units.
The breakdown of the journey, the roadmap, is the curriculum.

Curriculum should be organized to include curriculum targets that can be accurately assessed after a unit is completed. The desired “outcomes” for each of these teachable units are depicted as blue flags along the road in the illustration. Essentially, these outcomes are significant checkpoints of student learning along the way.

To ensure that students can
be successful at the unit outcome level, learning must be broken down further
into smaller steps that will be formatively assessed on a regular basis (daily
or every few days, at least). These narrow curriculum targets are depicted as
footprints along the road. Each unit outcome (flag) includes its own set of
footprints.

So, where do resources,
best practices, and differentiation fit into this analogy? Resources are what
you pack in your suitcase. They are the supplemental materials that make the
trip fun, engaging, and successful. There is rarely one resource that will
align perfectly to your curriculum, which is why we use the suitcase to
represent resources; it is filled with many great tools and materials – some
are essential, others are nice to have along.

Incorporating best
practices (e.g., 21st-century skills, math practices, ELA text complexity, and
ISTE standards) into instruction is like the sun that sheds light on the trip.
Best practices help to produce a well-balanced experience for students.

Lastly, differentiation
activities (i.e., intervention and enrichment) are the rest areas along the
way. It is essential to pause to ensure all students are on board and ready to
progress, using formative assessments as indicators of who might need
remediation or intervention activities.
It is equally important to provide engaging, relevant activities for
those students who are already with you and can keep up the pace.

There are so many elements
that go into effective teaching; but, the foundation of everything is to
determine what students need to know
and be able to do – the curriculum ­­– and how it will fit into the time that
you’re given. If you haven’t already made your roadmap, make it a priority to
identify curriculum targets. You’ll feel more confident about having a plan and
the chances of students arriving at the destination are much improved!

In scientific research, certain conditions need to be followed carefully in order to have reliable results. Procedures are put in place to ensure variables are isolated because the influence of extraneous variables can greatly affect the outcome of an experiment in a favorable or negative way. Implementing a new curriculum is similar to conducting a scientific investigation in that it is important to follow a set procedure. Conditions need to be controlled, and progress needs to be carefully followed and monitored so the results are accurate.

Clarification: Curriculum is not the same as a textbook, textbook series, or program. Rather, it includes the unit outcomes and individual learning targets (components) that supplemental resources like textbooks or programs must align.

Focus on the Curriculum

With the external mandates of ever-higher expectations for student achievement, school officials are tempted to try a variety of methods, strategies, and programs to gain rapid results. Sometimes a combination of programs is put into place with the hope of greater gains in student learning. However, greater gains are not always the result, even when using research-based programs with proven success. Instead, several variables are thrown into the mix with the lack of fidelity to one method or program. A conglomeration approach doesn’t allow for educators to determine what really is making the difference. Furthermore, the mixture can even produce negative results. For example, it may seem like it would be helpful, but adding new resources or other instructional programs while implementing a new curriculum creates divided attention for the teachers. When a new program is put into place at the same time as a new curriculum, it is hard for teachers to know what to “follow,” or how to merge the two, and it is impossible to determine which is truly affecting the results. If a new program is adopted within the district, it is recommended to pilot the program through another curricular area, or if that isn’t possible – to wait another year for adoption, until the new curriculum has been validated.

Supporting the Long-Range Plan

One of the first steps of action a Curriculum Coordinating Council (CCC) performs is developing a long-range plan for the district. The CCC purposely staggers developing curriculum for the areas of math, language arts, social studies, and science so only one core area is implemented during a school year. Not only does this help preserve the sanity of teachers responsible for multiple content areas, but it allows the new focus to be on one core area per year.

Also included on the long-range plan is the validation of the new draft curriculum. Throughout year two of the cycle, all teachers of the target subject are expected to frequently provide feedback to Subject Area Committee (SAC) members so needed changes can be made to the curriculum before it is adopted as a final product. Teachers are specifically looking to see if students struggle with a particular outcome or component and if the pace proceeds as expected so the curriculum will be completed by the end of the year. They should also note additional materials needed or professional training that would supplement instructional requirements within the curriculum. Collecting this information allows the SAC to make changes to the draft curriculum and request any necessary professional development training. It also allows the committee members to help guide the selection of supporting resources, which takes place during year three of the long-range plan.

Assessing the Curriculum for Results

During the year a new curriculum is implemented, students may have some growing pains due to increases in expected knowledge or skills. Teachers may have to review some concepts to get students ready to learn or create stepping stones when skills are expected at earlier levels. The pains of the transition from the old to the new curriculum decrease in the following years. In the meantime, frequent checks of student understanding must take place not only to guide instruction but also to help validate the curriculum. Assessing student learning exclusively on the curriculum is critical. If new resources or old assessments are utilized instead of tightly aligned assessments, results are invalid and we won’t know the true impact of the curriculum. Reliable results are needed before changes can be made and the curriculum approved as a final document.

By modeling the carefully placed steps of scientific study, a newly adopted curriculum can be implemented with validity and reliability. Fidelity to the curriculum has to be the priority in order to gain the desired results.